Thomas Blondet made a name for himself in the 90s club scene of Washington DC, and when you were out playing a range of sounds from house, downtempo, dub and hip hop, there was probably no better place to be. After all, this was a decade that kicked off into the thick of worldwide Rave and Trance culture. It saw the birth of Triphop and was the era of the "chillout" room. Grunge rock notwithstanding, electronic music ruled strong. All these things have given Thomas Blondet a solid education which he's definitely applied to his new EP Echo Chamber.

1. My Baby
2. Echo Chamber (feat. Zeebo)
3. Samba Soul
4. Walney Road

Blondet's Echo Chamber EP starts off with some deep house beats that have been given a soft, disco edge and a title of "My Baby". The style might remind you of a few Scandinavian productions, but added to the crisp, clean sounds that embody Swedish or Norwegian dance music is a deep warmth. It's largely instrumental but has a looped vocal sample that adds to the persistent percussive flow.

After that, the selection mixes up into a smooth, dub infected, downtempo groove that's also the title track "Echo Chamber". This one really taps into the DC downtempo sound of Thievery Corporation and is sure to take you back to Thievery's classic "Sounds From the Thievery Hi-Fi". In part, it's because this song features the vocals of Zeebo, who is well known for the work he does with Thievery Corporation. It's thick with bass and really nice mellow breaks, that are blanketed with Zeebo's trance inducing vocals and a variety of softened synth bleeps and vibes.

Though you might expect a return to the deep house kicks at this point, Blondet switches it all around once again with a lush, Latin lounge rhythm called "Samba Soul". The beats will remind you of some Nicola Conte work, while the drifting synths will tap you straight into a kind of 60s mod futurism that will have you reaching for an egg-shaped plastic chair and a swank martini, so you can sink back and jump with the rhythm.

Finishing out the EP is a track called "Walney Road". This one drops you straight into a fluffed out bed of synths that lead you right into some tough, slow beats. And I mean tough in a "straight to the pleasure center of your brain" kind of way. As the synth keys circulate you into hypnosis, it's an occasional sweeping synth ambiance that pulls you out just long enough to make you realize how beautiful it all sounds when it gives way to the clean keys and beats again. If I were a woman's hips, I couldn't just sit there motionless to this...I'd have to move it all around for sure. "Plush" is the word I'll use.

Echo Chamber revives and freshens up a kind of classic downtempo sound that so many have tried, unsuccessfully, to capture. It's just the right blend of electronic and live sounds. This is the real rhythm.

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Be sure and grab "Walney Road" off the Properly Chilled download page, and also from Properly Chilled's Featured Drink e-card for the Irish Blonde. Massive thanks go out to Rhythm & Culture Recordings for providing the music!

http://soundcloud.com/thomas-blondet/thomas-blondet-echo-chamber-feat-zeebo

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